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NYC firefighter shares 9/11 experience at memorial

By Janessa Maxilom jmaxilom@alamogordonews.com

@janessa_speaks on Twitter

Posted:
09/12/2013 08:39:57 PM MDT

Retired deputy chief fire inspector Archie Koenemund speaks about his experience as a New York City firefighter on Sept. 1, 2001, during a 9/11 memorial service Wednesday night at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. (Janessa Maxilom/Daily News)

On Sept. 11, 2001, Deputy Chief Fire Inspector Archie Koenemund was teaching a class when he heard the news that a plane had struck the first tower of the World Trade Center.

Koenemund shared what he lived through that fateful day during a 9/11 memorial ceremony Wednesday that held at the New Mexico Museum of Space History.

Koenemund said he was at the fire department headquarters in New York City teaching new inspectors when a woman came into the class hysterical about a plane hitting one of the twin towers. "I stopped the class, pulled the cable out of the wall and hooked up the television," Koenemund said. "And sure enough it was on the television."

After witnessing it on the news, he raced up to his office to get a view of the situation.

"I went up to my office on the seventh floor and you could see it," he said. "We were about a mile as the crow flies on the Brooklyn side."

It wasn't long after discovering what had happened to one of the World Trade Center towers that he was asked to gear up and prepare to assist in the crisis.

"My boss told me to grab my gear and to get on the bus," he said.

He said the first tower came down while he and his crew were responding and the second tower was hit shortly after the arrived on scene.

Koenemund said one of the hardest parts of working during the tragedy was not knowing if his son was alive.

"My son stopped there (the World Trade Center) for breakfast every morning at the food court on his way to school," he said.

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"My son was two blocks away when it happened, but I didn't know that until about 18 hours later."

Even with the uncertainty of his son's well being weighing on his heart, Koenemund said he kept working alongside his crew to help civilians.

During the incident, he said he and his crew endured the loss of fellow firefighters while working to save others.

"They carried the chief of department past us because he was dead," he mournfully said." My boss, the chief of fire prevention, was never found. We located his helmet, but we never found any remains."

After working through the terrible ordeal of the day, Koenemund said he went on to work the site for two weeks. Once he was done working on Ground Zero, he was assigned to the ceremonial unit to do funerals and memorials.

"I did funerals and memorials until I left New York in March 2002," he said.

He said he chose to move to New Mexico in 2002 because he had been at Holloman Air Force Base when he was a firefighter in the military.

Even though he moved away, no amount of distance or time could separate him from the memories of that dreadful day.

"I carried a hatred for Middle Eastern people for eight years," he said. "In 2009, I learned to forgive and realized that it wasn't all people from that region of the world that were responsible for the situation."

He said it was through the grace of God and attending church that helped him cope with post traumatic stress disorder and anger.

The psychological repercussions of the day weren't the only things that plagued him. After the effects of 9/11, he was left with various illnesses, including chronic sinusitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Koenemund said he will never forget the events that took place on 9/11 and that other people shouldn't either.

"I don't want people to forget," he said earnestly. "We can't let people forget. People died that day - people I knew. We can't forget there were people who died in order to save others."

He said he appreciates local fire crews honoring the fallen heroes and that it was important for Americans to remember the day.

"I know I will always remember that day and I want others to remember what happened that day, too," he said. "It's important that we remember and honor those who lost their lives that day."

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